MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2020 AACo Bulletin Advancing Arizona's Counties since 1968
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Remember to follow us on social media and visit our website!
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Legislative & Budget Update
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This week was chaotic as the legislature scrambled to pass a “skinny” budget in hopes of adjourning for a minimum of two weeks. The Senate completed their work on all ten “skinny” budget bills, largely with bipartisan support. Bipartisan support in the Senate was secured by a compromise that provided $50 million in support of the fallout we are experiencing due to the COVID19 pandemic, as well as $5 million for WQARF.
The Senate recessed at 6:45pm on Thursday in hopes that the House would finish soon after so that both chambers could move to adjourn for longer than three days in unison. The House passed the two education budget bills early in the day and then returned to the floor later in the evening to work through the remaining bills, starting with the feed bill. Representative Jeff Weninger was in the Chair for that COW and he misspoke, adopting a hostile Democrat floor amendment by accident. The lengthy process of stripping the amendment followed and the House eventually passed the feed along party lines. To everyone’s surprise, the House then adjourned for the weekend and moved to reconvene at 10:00am on Monday. It has become apparent that the Senate did not have support from the House or the Governor’s office for their budget.
AACo staff has been working diligently to move the property tax delinquency date to June 1
st, and to allow counties the option to have all-mail Primary and General elections for 2020. The delinquency date issue can be fixed retroactively; however, If the legislature breaks longer than 2 weeks, we may have missed our window to even have the possibility of all-mail should the pandemic worsen. AACo staff will monitor legislative activity and will keep membership informed.
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Arizona Responds to COVID-19
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County and State Response
The county governments of Arizona are taking the necessary steps to help inform, contain, and resolve the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the response from the counties has been varied, they are largely similar and many, if not most, include the following steps county-wide:
- Construction of Informational webpages and newsletters regarding State responses, County responses, and COVID-19 information put forward by medical authorities such as the CDC.
- Webpages and Newsletters include in-depth information on how citizens should respond, what various county departments are doing, and regularly updated information to keep the public up to date.
- Most webpages and newsletters also contain references to further information such as CDC announcements, State announcements, etc.
- Observation of state-wide safety measures such as:
- Limit gatherings of people 10 or more.
- Suspension or moderation of some public services (i.e. community centers, library programs, school closures, etc.).
- Temporary Closure of some businesses (i.e. Dine-in restaurants, pubs, etc.).
The response of Arizona Counties to the state of emergency instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is focused on the safety and well-being of its denizens. As Arizona faces an unprecedented situation in the shape of this pandemic, county officials and departments work to take the proper measures.
State and county-wide measures continue to be the standard in Arizona and are helping to bring structure to a situation that has left many Arizonans disoriented. While many challenges remain, Arizona counties continue to move in unison to inform, contain, and resolve the crisis. In an age where information is everywhere, we encourage you to visit your county’s website for information on how they are confronting COVID-19 and the state of emergency, individual links can be found on
AACo's COVID-19 webpage
.
Helpful Resources:
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County Government Platform Update
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Check in with AACo each week to learn how the components of the 2020 County Government Platform are advancing with state policy officials.
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Financial Market Volatility Guide & Strategy-Nationwide
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Know How to Act When You Feel Like You’re About to React
Nationwide has created a guide which provides financial educational information and strategies that inform you and your employees on how to remain objective and thoughtful in times like these when headline news is spiraling out of control. Thanks to 24-hour financial news channels, the Internet and the mobile devices we all seem to have these days, there is so much more news and information about the markets available to us.
While you might expect that it would help us get better investment results, the opposite is true for many investors. This is because our emotions can take over and negatively affect our investment decisions. With this guide, we’ll help you understand why this happens and what you can do to make better choices for your portfolio.
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2020 Arizona County Government Salary and Benefit Survey is Available
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This portion of the Salary and Benefit Survey only includes information on Arizona Counties.
For more information on the survey please contact
Gideon Wagner
, our Communication & Education Manager.
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NACo Webinars: Always a Chance to Learn
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Mark your calendars, NACo has important webinars coming up!
ESRI: GIS Tools, Templates and Free Resources for COVID-19 - March 23
GIS and COVID-19: NACo Technology has lined up this webinar in response to the current COVID-19 situation and how GIS can help with location analysis to guide your COVID-19 county responses to concerns such as health and homelessness. Join NACo for a live presentation by ESRI and Dr. Este Geraghty, MD, Chief Medical Officer for ESRI.
Learn more
and
register
!
NACo Technology - Cyber Insurance: What is it, Why Should You Have it, and What Should You Look for? - March 25
The presenter Tom Finan, is the Cyber Growth Leader at Willis Towers Watson, which supports many industries, including public sector insurance needs. Tom’s experience includes having served as the Senior Cybersecurity Strategist and Counsel for the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security and also under the FBI. Please join this webinar to learn more about why the importance of cybersecurity insurance has grown in recent years, what to look for when acquiring cyber insurance, and what IT best practices should be in place in order to benefit the most from cyber insurance.
Learn more
and
register
!
Supreme Court Midterm Webinar for States and Local Governments - March 26
From First Amendment to Faithless Electors, states and local governments have a lot to look forward to in June 2020 as the Supreme Court issues most of its opinion of the term. Join Elizabeth Prelogar, Cooley, who has written the State and Local Legal Center’s amicus brief in an excessive force case, Grant Sullivan, Office of the Colorado Attorney General, who has worked on three Supreme Court cases this term, and Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law, in a discussion of the most interesting cases which the Supreme Court has agreed to hear since October 2019 for states and local governments. Additional topics include: abortion, governor authority to appoint judges, municipalities impounding vehicles, and much more!
Learn more
and
register
!
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2020 NACo Achievement Awards Now Open
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Celebrate 50 Years of County Innovation
Applications are now open for the National Association of Counties (NACo)
2020 Achievement Awards
! Join NACo in celebrating 50 years of county innovation by applying today.
Since 1970, the NACo Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding county government programs and services. Through a non-competitive application process, noteworthy programs receive awards in 18 categories that cover a vast range of county responsibilities. By participating, your county can earn national recognition.
The 18 "best of category" winners will be recognized on stage at the 2020 NACo Annual Conference in Orange County/Orlando, Fla., and all winners will be recognized in the program book and online. NACo also provides a customizable press release for you to share the good news with the media and county residents.
NACo encourages all counties, parishes and boroughs to apply.
EARLY BIRD APPLICATION DEADLINE
: March 9, 2020 (save $25 off the application fee)
FINAL APPLICATION DEADLINE
: March 30, 2020
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